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Weeping On The Campus

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Weeping On The Campus

Ministry Update September 5, 2024

I thank the Lord that hundreds of tracts were handed out at Missouri State University on Wednesday August 28, 2024. After handing out tracts for 30 minutes or so, I did a little open-air preaching. Unfortunately, I turned the ringer off on my phone and didn’t realize that Moses was trying to reach me. I only got to witness with him for 15 or 20 minutes before I had to go back to work. But Moses, his wife Mercy, their daughter-in-law Prasanna and her two oldest daughters got to witness after I left.

Moses sent me an update about an hour later and said there was weeping on the campus. Here’s what his message said: Please pray for Logan who was wrought upon and was weeping when I was preaching at Missouri State University. Sister Prasanna is speaking to him! I immediately started praying for Logan and we all have been praying for him since that time. Brother Moses exchanged numbers with him and is staying in touch with Logan.

Read The Bible Every Night To Our Children

Moses, Anand and Anand’s two oldest daughters and I witnessed downtown Friday night August 30, 2024. I pretty much missed them again. I was the only witnessing before they got there, so we only got to fellowship for a few minutes. A group of three people asked me what church I attend. They said they were believers too, so I asked them to pass the tract on after they had a chance to read it. It was a pretty quiet night, but after I’d been there for a while, a young man came across the street and asked me what I was handing out. I told him they were Gospel tracts and he took one. When I asked him if he knew Jesus, he said that he does. He told me that he’d been in prison and had a bit of a rough life, even though he’d grown up in a Christian home. I asked him if he had a Bible and if he reads it. He told me, “Yes, my wife and I read the Bible every night to our kids”. That was the best conversation that I had Friday night.

Anand sent me this update later on: After you left brother Dennis, we went to the square and my Dad (Moses) open-air preached some. There was loud music, but some people heard my Dad. One woman said she was ready to face God’s judgment in a casual way. Another couple walked away as my Dad spoke against adultery and fornication, but a bit later took Gospel tracts from my Dad. May God bless the tracts and the open-air preaching.

(These updates are given to encourage Christians to share their faith in Jesus with this lost and dying world)

Is Jesus In All Of Us?

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Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash

Is Jesus In All Of Us?

Ministry Updates for June 14, 2024 and June 7, 2024

Doug, Michael, Justin and I witnessed downtown Springfield, MO on Friday night June 14, 2024. The weather was great and there was a good breeze. The statement of the night was from a non-believer that said, “Jesus is in all of us.” But prior to that, Doug and I walked around downtown handing out tracts. We handed out several of them on the square. We walked down South Street, but it was really quiet, so we went back to the corner where we started. Doug and I both ran into professing Christians that said they were believers, yet didn’t attend church. We explained to them that attending church doesn’t save you, but as believers, we want to fellowship with other believers. I love evangelizing downtown, but I enjoy the fellowship with my brothers in Christ just as much as I enjoy sharing the Gospel with unbelievers. It’s so important to be connected to a local (biblical) church. [Read more…]

So You Are Your Own god

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So You Are Your Own god

Joshua and I witnessed downtown Friday night and it was Art Walk, the first Friday of the month. So there were a lot of people downtown that we hadn’t seen before. We walked around and handed out tracts. We talked to one young couple – Pete and Jody. Pete and Joshua are both electricians, so they had a lot in common and had a good discussion. I gave Jody the curved illusion tracts and she loved them. After Joshua and Pete had talked, I asked Jody and Pete what they think happens after you die. Jody sounded like a true believer, based on her response. Pete, on the other hand was quite different. In fact, Joshua told him at one point, “So you are your own god.”

Pete was a very pleasant and likeable young man. That is, until we started talking religion. His whole demeanor changed. He started talking more loudly as he got wound up. The best I can tell, he’s not a Buddhist, but he believes that we keep being reincarnated and just keep coming back forever. Joshua kept trying to reason with him and show Pete that he really can’t have morals without taking them from God. But Pete was having none of that. Pete makes his own rules and he decides what’s right and wrong. He believes it’s what’s inside of us that matters. I couldn’t hardly get a word in edgewise, but at that point I stated that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9). [Read more…]

What If They Were On Fire?

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Joshua Witnessing To The People From Mongolia After Anand Said What If They Were On Fire? (Anand Is Standing Next to Joshua)

Joshua, Lydia And Michael Witnessing To Chris

What If They Were On Fire?
Ministry Update February 26, 2023

Friday night was one of those great nights of witnessing. It was Spirit filled and there just isn’t anyway to write this up nearly as good as the night really went. But Joshua, Lydia, Michael, Anand and I had a wonderful time witnessing. We prayed before we started that God would bless us with at least one good conversation and really prayed that He would give us many on that cold night. (The week before we didn’t have any conversations). Thank the Lord, He answered our prayer with many conversations and the line of the night was “What if they were on fire?”

 

Joshua and Lydia crossed the street after we prayed and I was going to bring a message. Before I even got started, Michael got there the same time a homeless guy Chris stopped to talk to them. Since I was going to open-air preach in their direction, I waited until they were done witnessing. Chris wanted to know what truth is and Joshua pointed him to Jesus – who is truth. It was great to watch them from across the street because all three of them – Joshua, Lydia and Michael all got to share truth with Chris. I think Lydia also gave Chris a blessing bag from their church.

Joshua, Michael And Lydia Talking To Tyler

Conversation With Another Homeless Person

I brought a message after Chris left and shortly right after that Tyler stopped to talk to my three friends. Tyler said that the Lord is working on him and again, all three of them shared the Gospel with Tyler. He listened respectfully and Tyler and Chris both took Gospel tracts. I had one drive by mocker while this was going on. He yelled something about not shoving my religion down other people’s throats. But the mocker wasn’t seeing the beautiful display of witnessing that I got to see across the street from me.

Anand Talking To A Gentleman

By the time I finished open-air preaching, Anand showed up and he quickly got into a conversation with a gentleman across the street from where Joshua, Lydia and Michael were witnessing at. The gentleman said that he believed in a higher power so Anand told him that you have to believe in more than a higher power. You have to believe in Jesus. Anand talked to him about the need for repentance and belief in Jesus. Then Anand joined the rest of us and told us about his encounter with the gentleman. While he was relaying his conversation with the gentleman to us, Joshua handed tracts to several people. They politely took the tracts, but didn’t seem to want to visit. They went straight toward the scooters you can rent that were directly behind us.

Anand Asks The Question “What If They Were On Fire?”

Joshua was telling us that they didn’t seem like they wanted to talk and frankly I agreed with him. But praise God, Anand said the line of the night and we are convinced it came from God. He said, “What if they were on fire?” Joshua immediately walked around the rest of us and went right up to the people before they got on the scooters. It turns out that they are from Mongolia. One guy really listened to Joshua and not only did he listen, but he seemed genuinely convicted over his sins.

As soon as they left, a couple of homeless people stopped by. Their names are Jackie and Zachariah. We tried to find something for Jackie to eat, but we didn’t have anything.  Michael gave Zachariah some money so they could get something to eat. Michael had a good conversation with Zachariah and I think Joshua may have talked to him too. Then two more of their friends showed up, Nancy and Ryan.

Used To Go To The Same Church

By the time it was done, Joshua had a really good conversation with Nancy and I also shared some truth with her. Nancy was getting a little side tracked because she felt like she knew me. I felt the same way. But Joshua did a great job when she’d look at me and say I know you. Joshua just told her that I’ve been coming out here for years and he directed her right back to the Gospel. I loved it. It was great. But after we finished witnessing to Nancy, her and I figured out that we used to go to the same church. I wonder what happened in her life that she ended up out on the streets?

Michael ended up having a good conversation with Ryan and after they left, Michael said Ryan was much more receptive this time around. Evidently Michael and Joshua had talked to him in the past. Lydia also had sleeping bag in her car, so she ran and got it and gave it to Nancy. Joshua prayed for all four of them before they left and he prayed a great prayer for God to save all of them and that God would help them with any addiction problems they are facing.

Joshua and Michael Talking To Nancy and Zachariah

Nancy Jackie and Ryan They Were With Zachariah – Pic is Before Michael Had A Good Convo With Ryan

Says That He’s Saved But Can’t Say How

After the four homeless people left us, the five us were just standing around talking about what an amazing night of conversations it had been. Just one right after another. After a few minutes, I turned around and there were two young men standing right behind me. I handed both of them tracts and asked them, “Who is Jesus?” The one young man named Trent said that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. I said that’s great and asked him how he came to faith. He replied about a year ago. Again, I asked him how God reached him and sadly, the young man couldn’t really answer. He just said that he started going to church. I told him that I wasn’t making fun of him, but you don’t just go to bed one night and wake up the next day a Christian.

So I shared the Gospel with him and he seemed to nod his head, but I’m not sure that he really gets it. I was also trying to see if he reads his Bible every day and he said that he doesn’t. Then he admitted that he doesn’t have a Bible. I told him that I normally hand out New Testaments but that I had a full Bible in my car if he had time for me to run and get it.  He said that he did. So I encouraged him to talk to my friends while I ran to get the Bible. When I got back, Joshua was sharing truth with him and I handed him the Bible and witnessed some more to him too.

While this was going on, Anand was witnessing to Trent’s friend named Garrett. When we finished witnessing, they both shook our hands and Trent said something to the effect that he thinks God put him on that corner to talk to us. Trent also asked me why we all come out on the streets and witness. (This fit right along with my message tonight Why Share The Gospel?). I told Trent that we once walked in darkness but that we’ve seen the Light. Jesus is the Light. We love God because He first loved us and we are so grateful that God saved sinners like us that we want to share the Good News with others. It really was one of those special nights of witnessing and we thank and praise God for it. We hope and pray that God will save lost souls. The best line of the night still was “What if they were on fire?” This should be the motto for our evangelism group.

Jesus Isn’t Real

It rained the whole time that I witnessed at MSU on Wednesday. One girl yelled “Hail Satan” as she walked by. Later on, I was talking about how Jesus is the only Savior and student turned around and said “God isn’t real.” I told him that it’s interesting that atheists are anti-God. So they affirm that there is a God by their hatred toward God. There is no tooth fairy, but I’m not anti-tooth fairy, there just isn’t one. Even though I didn’t have any takers on tracts in the rain, that’s what I like about open-air preaching. The students may not want to hear the Gospel, but they can’t unhear the truth. Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, they need to hear it. May God convict and convert lost souls.

Girl Yells Hail Satan

Student Yells Jesus Isn’t Real

(These updates are given to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others)

Do You Believe God’s Word

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Do You Believe God’s Word?

Do you believe God’s word? Do you believe the Bible? In 2017 Barna did a study and found that only 17% of professing Christians in America hold to a biblical worldview. Their definition of a biblical worldview was “believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.”

So you see why I’m questioning: Do you believe God’s word? It is a valid question. If only 17% of professing Christians have a biblical worldview, that means a lot of professing Christians do not hold to a biblical worldview. So what’s wrong with not having a biblical worldview? For one thing, you are placing yourself above God. You are making your own self a little g god and you are saying that you know better than the one true God, who HAS revealed Himself in Scripture. [Read more…]

Does It Show You Where The Naked Men Are At?

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Man Asked If The Tract Shows Where The Naked Men Are At

Does It Show You Where The Naked Men Are At?

Ministry Update January 29, 2023

Friday night was one of those nights with some strange encounters. Before my friends joined me, people were lined up about a half a block outside of the Gillioz Theatre at 7 pm. They were there to see Frank Foster in concert. The show started at 8 pm, but people were lining up early to get in. Evidently, he’s a country singer. They were a tough crowd. Most refused tracts and some of them appeared to be drunk already. But after Joshua, Michael and his friend Anand joined me is when things got interesting, including a guy asking about a tract “Does it show you where the naked men are at?”

Dancing Guy After He Quit Dancing Around

Mocker Dancing Around Sexually Suggestively

After my friends arrived, Joshua prayed for us and I went across the street and brought a message from Genesis 1. Fairly quickly, a guy walked up behind me and to my left (where I couldn’t’ see him) and he started dancing around sexually suggestively while holding a flashlight. I appreciated Joshua coming over and standing near me while this was going on. The open-air preaching brought a few people to all of us to talk to. While Joshua was talking to a man, I was handing out tracts and a teenager took one, but what looked like his parents refused and the man said, “I’m trying to give it up.” Obviously, he didn’t even know what I was handing out, but he was just trying to be a smart aleck. I replied to him that Jesus doesn’t give up on us, but you have to come to the Lord His way, through repentance and faith.

Guy Wearing The Cap Says He’s Trying To Give It Up

Guy Asked The Question About Naked Men

Then toward the end of the evening, a couple of guys walked toward me and they both refused tracts. One guy didn’t say anything, but his buddy refused it but wanted to know, “Does it show you where the naked men are at?” They kept walking, so by that time they were past me and near Joshua who asked the man if he knows Jesus. The guy replied, “I know Him and I’m going to know my buddy tonight.” Folks, it doesn’t work this way. You can’t hold onto Jesus with one hand and hold on to the sins that you love so much with the other hand. Jesus will meet you in the sin gutter of your life, but the Lord loves us too much to leave us there.

Joshua Talking to Chance

We also had an encourager. He took a tract and thanked us for being out there sharing the Gospel. After I brought the message, a guy walked by and thanked me too. He started talking to Joshua while I was standing nearby. I typically end the message inviting people to come over and talk to us if they have questions and to also let us know if they want a Bible. Another gentleman walked up about that time and said he wanted a Bible. As I gave him one, the guy named Chance that Joshua was talking to also asked for one. Now Chance said things that made it sound like he’s a believer. But Joshua asked him good questions and the more they talked, the more it sounded like Chance really isn’t a true follower of Jesus. We prayed for Chance before he walked away. Michael and Anand also got into some conversations across the street from us. It was a cold night, but we had a good time witnessing, even with some of the strange encounters.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others)

Michael and Anand Handing Out Tracts

Joshua Handing Out Tracts

Long Way From Home

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Long Way From Home

Ministry Update January 23, 2023

Before Michael and I walked around downtown Friday night and handed out Gospel tracts, he prayed a really nice prayer and he asked God to bless any conversations that we get into. We received a lot of no’s when offering tracts, but we had a few takers. There were a couple of guys standing in front of a bar and I handed both of them tracts. As they thumbed through them, I told them they were Gospel tracts that tell you about Jesus. Then I asked them if they know who Jesus is and surprisingly they both shook their heads no. They were a long way from home since they are from Bangladesh, but we were still surprised that they didn’t know who Jesus is.

I talked to them about how Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and why He came to this earth that He created. Then I asked them if they consider themselves to be good. Adeem’s friend said yes, but Adeem said that he was probably more good than bad. I explained how God is perfect and none of us are perfect. That’s why we need a Savior, since we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. They both listened graciously while I shared the Gospel with them.

Do You Have A Bible?

Afterwards, I asked them if they have Bibles and both of them said they didn’t. So then I asked if they’d read it if I gave them one. Adeem’s friend said no, but Adeem thought for a second and then said that he would read it. I handed him a New Testament, pointed to the sky and told him that this book is unlike any other book he’s ever read. It is inspired by the Creator God in Heaven and that if he will ask God to reveal His truth to Adeem, that I believe God will do so. I also encouraged Adeem to read the Bible to see if what we were telling him was the truth. Both guys shook our hands and thanked us for talking with them. May God convict and convert Adeem and his friend. Michael and I handed out some more tracts before the night was over. But this encounter is what we pray for and hope God will bless us with. We don’t always get the opportunity to clearly present the Gospel while witnessing, but it’s always encouraging and a real blessing when we get to do so.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the glorious Gospel with this lost and dying world)

Rededicate My Life

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Rededicate My Life

Tyail, Joshua and I witnessed downtown Friday night. I brought a message and had a couple of walk by mockers, but they were too far away and I couldn’t make out what they were saying, so I just kept open air preaching. Toward the end of the message, a guy walked up and started talking to Joshua. The guy was homeless and Joshua got the man a sleeping bag and a pair of socks that Joshua had brought with him. While Joshua went to his vehicle to get these things, the man crossed the street and walked up to me and said, “I want to rededicate my life to the Lord.”

I don’t get into debates as to whether or not rededicating your life is biblical or not because I don’t get caught up on terminology. If someone wants to repent and surrender their life to Jesus, I don’t care if they were a false convert or someone who thinks they are rededicating their life or not. Spiritually getting right with Jesus is the main thing. So I suggested the man go ahead and pray and then I’d pray after him. Unfortunately, the guy prayed for his physical needs, but nothing about repentance and not a single word about rededicating his life to Jesus.

Spiritual Needs

I prayed after he finished praying and since he didn’t bring up his spiritual needs at all, I prayed that God would save the man. That God would grant him repentance and faith in Jesus. I also prayed for his physical needs, but mainly focused on his spiritual needs. Joshua joined us while I was praying and Joshua handed him the sleeping bag and a pair of socks. Joshua had witnessed to this man before, so Joshua asked Daniel if he’d been drinking and Daniel admitted that he had been. So then Joshua asked him what happened to him. He asked the question because the last time Joshua witnessed to him, Daniel was sober and reading his Bible. Daniel admitted that he’d been hanging around the wrong people and had fallen back into drinking again.

Tyail joined us by this time (she had been handing out tracts across the street,) all three of us took turns quoting Scripture to Daniel and encouraged him to turn from his sins and turn to Jesus to save him. We pointed out that whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. Tyail quoted Proverbs 20:1, I quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Joshua quoted several other verses. Daniel graciously listened. We weren’t picking on him, it was out of love that we were sharing Bible verses and showing him that we are concerned for his eternal soul. About that time Joshua asked Daniel if he was still reading his Bible and Daniel admitted that it had gotten wet, so Joshua gave him another one. Joshua also gave him a plastic bag to keep all these things in. Tyail recommend a place for him to stay the night and Daniel headed off in that direction. We hope and pray that God will truly save Daniel and set him free from the addiction of alcohol.

Handing Out Tracts

Joshua needed to leave after we talked to Daniel, so Tyail and I walked around downtown and handed out tracts. I handed out a few, but Tyail handed out a lot of them. I appreciated her boldness in going up to people that were standing outside of bars and the majority of them took tracts from her. We ended up back at our normal spot and handed out tracts there. After we prayed to end the night, I saw a woman walking my direction about a half a block away so I waited for her to reach me. I handed her a tract and she asked about it, so I told her that it’s a Gospel tract that tells you about Jesus. She smiled really big and said that she knows Jesus. I suggested she hand the tract to someone that needs it and she said that she would. It was a great way to end the night.

Hearty Amen!

I brought a message a MSU on Wednesday and didn’t have any mockers. A couple of students took pictures or recorded briefly as they walked by. But two students stood there for a few minutes and listened to the message. But the highlight was when I mentioned King Jesus and that every knee will bow and tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, a young lady walked by and gave a Hearty Amen! It’s always encouraging when students aren’t afraid to say Amen in public and a little encouragement goes a long way.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others)

Contradictions In The Bible And Other Excuses

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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Contradictions In The Bible And Other Excuses

While out street witnessing, we hear many unbelievers claim that there are contradictions in the Bible and other excuses. These claims usually come out when men and women are confronted with their own sinfulness and God’s Holiness. Instead of recognizing and accepting their failures, short comings, out-right sinfulness and ungodliness, they fall back on excuses such as the Bible was written by men, other religions talk about a flood and have a savior as well as there being contradictions in the Bible and other excuses.

But are there really contradictions in the Bible? We recently had a young man claim this while we witnessed to him. When asked to give us an example, the young man was unable to do so. More times than not, this is the case. Unbelievers who claim that there are contradictions in the Bible can’t even provide one example. Even when someone makes an attempt to show one, they are typically feeble attempts or a real stretch. [Read more…]

Encounter Of The Good Kind

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Encounter Of The Good Kind

Tyail, Joshua, Michael and I witnessed downtown Friday night. The temperature was above freezing, but it was cold with the 10 mile per hour wind. This was our first night of witnessing on a cold night and it was really cold. I started off with a short message and had a couple of walk by mockers. Because of the cold, Joshua suggested we go caddie corner across the street and stand next to the building to block the wind. We thought that was a great idea, so we all moved over there and that’s when we had the encounter of the good kind. [Read more…]